In releasing the first ever comprehensive report on sub-Saharan Africa's economic and biological potential for producing wheat, scientists said today that the region's farmers may be growing only 10 to 25 percent of the production the research suggests is both biologically possible and economically profitable. With rainwater alone, and with proper use of fertilizer and other investments, 20 to 100 percent of farmlands in the 12 nations studied appear to be ecologically suitable for profitable wheat farming, according to an analysis based on advanced computer modeling techniques.

The analysis, prepared by researchers at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), comes precisely at a time when burgeoning populations and rapid urbanization in Africa are pushing up domestic imports of increasingly expensive wheat grain. The report was released at the first conference ever to seriously explore where increased wheat growing in Africa is biologically feasible, economically profitable and internationally competitive as a hedge against food insecurity, political instability and price shocks.

The authors warned of the need for further analysis to address the economic, social and environmental impact of boosting wheat production on the rich agricultural lands of eastern and southern Africa. "Our study suggests that if the proper investments are made, eight of the countries in our study could significantly reduce their dependence on wheat imports," said Bekele Shiferaw, a lead author and director of CIMMYT's Socioeconomics Program, based in Nairobi, Kenya. "But our work also suggests that fulfilling the promise of this study will require a shift in how the crop is viewed in sub-Saharan Africa and will only occur with significant support from governments and development agencies."

Demand Rises for Teff, Other 'New' Alternatives to Wheat October 30, 2015 — Wayne Carlson became a convert to Ethiopia's staple grain while doing public health work in Africa in the mid-1970s. Teff flour is the key ingredient for injera, Ethiopia's signature, spongy flatbread. It has a mild, nutty or earthy taste.

In the late 1970s, Carlson returned to the U.S., married and settled in southwest Idaho. Then he hatched the idea to introduce teff grass to North America in his home state. "Geologically, it is very similar to Ethiopia," he explained. "Ethiopia is placed on the East African Rift Valley, which is very much like the Snake River Plain." Neither Wayne nor his wife, Elisabeth, is a farmer, nor do they want to be. So they persuaded actual farmers in Idaho, and in the neighboring states of Oregon and Nevada, to grow teff on contract for them. They mill the grain into flour, but until last year there wasn't a single Ethiopian restaurant or bakery in all of Idaho to sell it to.

The Teff Company co-founder Wayne Carlson shows the tiny grains of teff before cleaning. There are 2,500 to 3,000 grains per gram.​

Undeterred, the Carlsons found customers. "The way we started was Wayne went through the Washington, D.C., telephone book and looked for the names that were Ethiopian," Elisabeth said. And that's how the business slowly grew for several decades, serving the far-flung Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrant community in the U.S. The Teff Company has outgrown four different mills. The first was a little stone grinder in the Carlsons' basement. They currently occupy a remodeled brewery complex in Nampa, Idaho. The teff flour coming off the packing line could well land in an upscale natural food store or commercial bakery.

The Teff Company co-founder Elisabeth Carlson in the flour mill in Nampa.​

According to an industry trade group, sales of alternatives to modern wheat — amaranthe, quinoa and millet, along with teff — are growing at double-digit rates each year. Teff production in the U.S. exploded over the past decade, said Oregon State University research agronomist Rich Roseberg, going from 1,200 hectares in 2003 to more than 40,000 nationally by 2010. He noted that the majority of the teff acreage in Washington state, Oregon and in the Eastern U.S. is grown for livestock forage. "Horses in particular seem to prefer it to other grass hay," he said.

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